Leukaemia survivor pledges to meet the stem cell donor who saved his life
Peter Gerald Davis's rare form of disease affects just 60 people in the UK but a simple cheek swab found his match
A 65-year-old Jewish man from north west London has told Jewish News he hopes to meet the stem cell donor who saved his life and gave him hope for the future.
Les Miserables theatre actor Peter Gerald Davis was diagnosed with a high lymphocyte (white blood cell) count in a random blood test in 2019. Doctors found he had T-cell Prolymphocytic Leukaemia (T-PLL), a very, very rare form of the disease, which affects an estimated one in every million people.
With researchers advising him to “go and do all the things I wanted to” with his wife Michelle and son Alfie, the frantic search began for a donor through DKMS, a global non-profit organisation focused on blood cancer and bone marrow donation.
Extraordinarily, a match was found with a young woman who had decided to do a simple cheek swap.
“A 22-year-old girl from Germany,” Davis says, joking that wife wasn’t happy about it.
He went through immunotherapy and a stem cell transplant, all during lockdown and Covid, spending four long weeks in isolation in hospital.
Davis explains: “They kill off all your stem cells with a combination of radiation and chemotherapy, and then give you the transplant: a blood transfusion of stem cells. It takes a while for them to engraft, and you have a new lease of life.”
Whilst he’s just passed the five year anniversary of the successful operation, he remains “very, very open to infection, because the immune suppression for something like this is immense, in order to for me not to reject my donor.”
Having gone through the proper protocols, Davis has sent his lifesaver a letter.
“What I very much hope to do is go and meet her and thank her personally for this gift of life that she has given so simply. All it takes is a cheek swab to actually show whether you might be a match for somebody that needs a stem cell transplant. I knew nothing about her. I know very little about her now, but I know that she exists.”
Caroline Richardson, head of fundraising for DKMS UK says: “We are delighted to hear that Peter is thriving following his transplant from a donor registered with DKMS in Germany. He is the living proof that stem cell transplants provide second chances at life for people diagnosed with blood cancers or disorders, and it is wonderful that he is using his inspirational story to encourage others to sign up as potential stem cell donors.
“Registering as a potential donor is quick and simple – just some painless mouth swabs and a few health questions. Anyone aged 17-55 and in general good health can register with DKMS at dkms.org.uk – you’ll be joining Peter’s donor in a worldwide chain of hope for people needing a stem cell transplant.”
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